St George's Cathedral, Southwark

St George's Cathedral holds a unique place in history as the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in England following the Reformation. Its story began when the architect Augustus Pugin, famous for his work on the Houses of Parliament, was commissioned to design a grand space for the rapidly expanding Catholic population in South London. Pugin originally envisioned an even more ambitious complex, but funding constraints forced him to simplify his plans. The building was officially opened in 1848, and remarkably, Pugin himself was the first person married within its walls just a few weeks later.